Bath oil dispenser



March 3, 1964 H. s. DEARLING BATH OIL DISPENSER Filed Aug. 28, 1962 Zfa INVENTOR. HARRY s. DEARL/NG BY q E 0 Tron/v5 Y5 a United States Patent 3,123,303 BATH 01L DISPENSER Harry S. Dearling, New York, N.Y., assignor to Duval The present invention relates generally to dispensing devices, and in particular to a dispenser which is suitable for the controlled admixing of bath oil and like preparations with water.

In using bath oils and similar preparations, the usual practice is to pour a small quantity of such bath oil from its original container into the bath and then circulate the bath water to mix the bath oil therewith. Wornen frequently experience difficulty in dispensing the small and measured quantity of the bath oil required to prepare the bath and in achieving thorough admixture of the dispensed quantity with the bath water.

In my earlier US. Patent No. 2,092,728 of September 7, 1937, there is disclosed a dispenser which included a container having a wick projecting therefrom, which container was adapted to receive the bath oil such as to saturate the wick. The container was surrounded by an apertured housing forming an enclosure about the container and the projecting portion of the wick such that the bath water could be circulated through the enclosure and over the wick for adinhrture with the bath oil. The principles of this bath oil dispenser were found to be sound, but in actual practice, the dispenser was diflicult to fabricate and relatively expensive such that its widespread popularization was not possible. There exists a need for a relatively inexpensive and practical dispenser which is capable of mixing a controlled quantity of bath oil with bath water and which is exceptionally simple to use, easily replenished with bath oil, and virtually foolproof in its operation.

Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bath oil dispenser which realizes one or more of the aforesaid objectives. Specifically, it is within the contemplation of the present invention to provide a wicktype bath oil dispenser which represents the utmost of simplicity in construction such that it may be manufactured on a mass production basis at a relatively low unit cost and is suitable for mass distribution.

in accordance with an illustrative embodiment demonstrating objects and features of the present invention, there is provided a bath oil dispenser which comprises a container including a threaded neck bounding a neck opening and a body wall of a penetrable plastic. Conveniently, the container can be in the form of a stock bottle fabricated of polyethylene. A wick extends through the body wall and includes an inner portion depending within the container, and an outer portion depending externally thereof. The wick is saturable with the bath oil when the latter is poured into the container through the neck opening. The container is mounted within the housing with the threaded neck projecting from the housing. The housing forms an enclosure about the container and the external portion of the wick and is provided with apertures enabling the flow therethrough of bath water such that the bath oil is miscible with the bath water. A threaded cap engages the threaded neck and serves as a removable closure for the container, and means are provided for suspending the housing such that the same may be immersed into and circulated through the bath water to create a flow through the enclosure.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following de- "Ice tailed description of a presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative embodiment in accordance with the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bath oil dispenser embodying features of the present invention shown being circulated through a body of water;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the bath oil dispenser;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the bath oil dispenser shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional View taken substantially along the line 44 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is an exploded sectional view showing the component parts of the bath oil dispenser preliminary to assembly; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view, partially in perspective, showing the step of inserting the wick into the plastic container or bottle preliminary to the final assembly operation.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, there is shown a bath oil dispenser, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, which embodies features of the present invention and is adapted .to contain a quantity of bath oil to be dispensed therefrom in a controlled amount into a body of water, such as the bath B represented schematically in FIG. 1. The bath oil dispenser comprises a container or bottle 12 which is fabricated of a penetrable plastic, such as blown polyethylene. The container or bottle 12 conveniently may be a stock item of manufacture and includes a threaded neck 14 bounding a neck opening 16 and a depending cylindrical body wall 18 terminating at its lower end in a bottom wall 26.

As seen best in FIG. 5, the cylindrical body wall '18 at a location spaced below the neck opening 14 and substantially above the bottom wall 20 is penetrated to provide a wick orifice and supports a wick 22 which includes an inner length or portion 22a depending internally of the bottle 12 and preferably terminating at the bottom 24 thereof and an outer length or portion 22b depending externally of the container and terminating short of the bottom wall 20 thereof. The wick 22 is fabricated of woven material, and the tightness of its weave, its cross section, and the size of the orifice 18a in the body wall 18 will all be determining factors in controlling the amount of bath oil available on the external portion or length 22b for admixing with the bath. It has been found convenient and practical to assemble the wick 22 with the container 18 by piercing the wall 18 with a heated pick or the like to form the wick orifice or opening 18a. Conveniently, the wick 22 may be taken from a shoe lace or the like, designated by the letter L, which has a tip T (see FIG. 6) facilitating insertion of the lace into the orfiice 18a. In practice, after the wick orifice 18a is formed in the body wall 18, the lace L is inserted through the aperture 18a and pulled upwardly through the neck opening 16. Thereupon, the unneeded portion of the lace L is cut away with a scissors and the inner portion or length is reinserted into the bottle 12, as indicated by the dot-dash lines in FIG. 6. It will be appreciated that this is a very convenient and practical mode of assembling the wick 22 with the bottle 12.

The subassembly of the bottle 12 and the wick 22 is mounted within a bipartite housing 24 which includes an upper spherical section 26 and a lower spherical section 28. semi-spherical wall 26a which is bridged at its upper end by a flat top wall 26b formed central-1y thereof with a neck-receiving opening 260 wthrough which the threaded neck 14- of the bottle '12 is adapted to project (see FIG. 4). Further, the fiat top Wall 2612 is formed with a group The upper section 26 includes a dome-shaped or of water-inlet apertures Zed which permit water to flow from the top of the housing 214 into the interior thereof. The wall 26a is formed at its lower end with a marginal flange 25c which calries a depending lip 26 which ma be rolled about a flange fonmed on the lower section 2 8 of the housing 2.4 to secure the housing sections as, together. The lower section 23 includes a dome-shaped or semi-spherical wall 28a which is bridged at its lower end by a flat bottom wall 23b formed with a series of water-outlet openings 280. At its upper end, the wall 23a is formed with amarginal flange 23d, which is abutted against the flange 26a to form a medial seam or joint about the housing 26. The flanges 26c, 23d are joined in abutting relation by rolling the lip 36f about the flange 23d, as seen best in FIG. 4.

The bottle 12 is supported between the top and bottom walls 26]), 28b of the sections 25, 28 with the threaded neck 14- projecting through the neck-receiving opening 26c and the lower end of the bottle l2 is gripped by an upwardly directed U-shaped mounting member 3d secured, as by riveting or welding, to the bottom wall 2% of the section 23. The spacing of the arms Sea, Slit; of the mounting member 3d may be such as to slightly compress the adjacent lower end of the cylindrical body wall 13 of the bottle 12 such as to firmly retain the bottle in its mounted position (see FIG. 4).

A threaded cap 32 engages the threaded neck 14 of the bottle 12 to serve as a removable closure for the bottle 1?. and as part of the means for suspending the dispenser in the oath B (see H8. 1), which means is completed by a flexible chain or cord 34 which terminates in a ring 36. Conveniently, the ring 36 may be held while the dispenser it) is circulated through the bath B and also may serve as a means for hanging the dispenser at some convenient and accessible location in the bathroom.

In order to facilitate a more thorough understanding of the present invention, a typical sequence of openation will now be described:

In use, the threaded cap 32 is removed and the bottle 12 is filled with bath oil. The cap 32 is then screwed on to the threaded neck 14 of the bottle 12. Incident to the filling of the bottle 12 with the bath oil, the wick 22 will be permeated with the bath oil and the external or dispensing portion 2 will pick up the bath oil by capillary attraction. Since such bath oils usually contain a scouting agent, when the diwenser it is not in use, it will serve as a means for imparting a pleasant smell to the bathroom. At such time as it is to be placed in use, the dispenser 1a is immersed into the bath B and circilated therethrough. This will force water through the enclosure defined about the wick 22, with most of the water flowing in through the water inlet apertures Zdd and flowing out of the water-outlet apertures 280. After a period of agitation, the dispenser lid is removed from the bath B and will instantaneously drain itself whereupon it can be re-hung for future use. The oils which are washed ofi of the exposed portion 22b of the wick 22 incident to use are promptly replenished due from the immersed ponti'on 22a thereof. Where necessary, the user can remove the threaded cap to replenish the supply of bath oil within the container.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that there has been provided a relatively simple dispenser which is capable of delivering controlled and measured quantities of bath oil to a body of water and which is suitable to readily admix the bath oil with such body of water. Due to its inherent simplicity, the device can be readily manufactured at a low unit cost.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein.

What I claim is:

1. A bath oil dispenser comprising a container including a t eaded neck bounding a neck opening and a body wall of a penetrable plastic, a Wick extending through said body Wall and including an inner portion extending internally of said container and an outer portion extending externally of said container, said Wick being saturable with a bath oil when poured into said container through said eck opening, a housing, means mounting said container within said housing with said threaded neck projecting therefrom, said housing forming an enclosure about said container and said outer portion of said wick, there being apentures in said housing enabling the flow through said enclosure of bath water such that said bath oil is miscible therewith, and a threaded cap engaging said threaded neck and serving as a removable closure for said contm'ner.

2. A bath oil dispenser comprising a container including a threaded neck bounding a neck opening and a body wall of a penetrable plastic, a wick extending through said body wall and including an inner portion extending internally of said container and an outer portion extending externally of said container, said wick being saturable with a bath oil when poured into said container through said neck opening, a housing, means mounting said container within said housing with said threaded neck projecting therefrom, said housing forming an enclosure about said container and said outer portion of said wick, there being apertures in said housing enabling the flow through said enclosure of bath Water such that said bath oil is miscible therewith, a threaded cap engaging said threaded neck and serving as a removable closure for said container, and means for suspending said housing such that the same may be immersed and circulated through the bath water to create a flow thereof through said enclosure.

3. A bath oil dispenser comprising a plastic bottle including a threaded neck bounding a neck opening and a cylindrical penetrable body wall, a wick extending through said body wall and including an inner length depending internally of said container and an outer length depending externally of said container, said wick being saturable with a bath oil when the latter is poured into said container through said neck opening, a bipartite housing including an upper spherical section having a flat top wall formed with a neck-receiving opening therethrough and a lower spherical section having a flat bottom wall, means mounting said container within said housing with said threaded neck projecting therefrom through said neckreceiving opening, and means medially joining said upper and lower spherical sections with said bottle supported between said top and bottom Walls of said sections, said housing forming an enclosure about said container and said outer portion of said wick, there being apertures in said top and bottom Walls of said sections enabling the flow through said enclosure of bath water such that said bath oil is miscible therewith.

4. A bath oil dispenser comprising a plastic bottle including a threaded neck bounding a neck opening and a cylindrical penetrable body wall, a wick extending through said body wall and including an inner length depending internally of said container and an outer length depending externally of said container, said wick being saturable With a bath oil when the latter is poured into said container through said neck opening, a bipartite housing including an upper spherical section havin a flat top Wall formed with a neck-receiving opening therethrough and a lower spherical section having a flat bottom Wall, means mounting said container within said housing with said threaded neck projecting therefrom through said neck-receiving opening, means medially joining said upper and lower spherical sections with said bottle supported between said top and bottom walls of said sections, said housing forming an enclosure about said container and said outer portion of said wick, there being apertures in said top and bottom walls of said sections enabling the flow through said enclosure of bath water such that said bath oil is miscible therewith and a threaded cap engaging said threaded neck and serving as a removable closure for said bottle.

5. A bath oil dispenser comprising a plastic bottle including a threaded neck bounding a neck opening and a cylindrical penetrable body wall, a wick extending through said body wall and including an inner length depending internally of said container and an outer length depending externally of said container, said wick being saturable with a bath oil when the latter is poured into said container through said neck opening, a bipartite housing including an upper spherical section having a flat top wall formed with a neck-receiving opening therethrough and a lower spherical section having a flat bottom wall, means mounting said container within said housing with said threaded neck projecting therefrom through said neckreceiving opening, means medially joining said upper and lower spherical sections with said bottle supported between said top and bottom walls of said sections, said housing forming an enclosure about said container and said outer portion of said wick, there being apertures in said top and bottom Walls of said sections enabling the flow through said enclosure of bath water such that said bath oil is miscible therewith, a threaded cap engaging said threaded neck and serving as a removable closure for said bottle, and means for suspending said housing such that the same may be immersed and circulated through the bath water to create a flow thereof through said enclosure.

6. A bath oil dispenser comprising a plastic bottle including a threaded neck bounding a neck opening and a cylindrical penetrable body wall, a wick extending through said body Wall and including an inner length depending internally of said container and an outer length depending externally of said container, said wick being saturable with a bath oil when the latter is poured into said container through said neck opening, a bipartite housing including an upper spherical section having a flat top wall formed with a neck-receiving opening therethrough and a lower spherical section having a flat bottom wall, means mounting said container within said housing with said threaded neck projecting therefrom through said neckreceiving opening, means medially joining said upper and lower spherical sections with said bottle supported between said top and bottom walls of said sections, a

'mounting member on said bottom wall of said lower spherical section receiving and embracing the lower portion of said body wall, said housing forming an enclosure about said container and said outer portion of said wick, there being apertures in said top and bottom walls of said sections enabling the flow through said enclosure of bath water such that said bath oil is miscible therewith and a threaded cap engaging said threaded neck and serving as a removable closure for said bottle.

7. A bath oil dispenser comprising a plastic bottle including a threaded neck bounding a neck opening and a cylindrical penetrable body wall, a wick extending through said body wall and including an inner length depending internally of said container and an outer length depending externally of said container, said wick being satura ble with a bath oil when the latter is poured into said container through said neck opening, a bipartite housing including an upper spherical section having a fiat top wall formed with a neck-receiving opening therethrough and a lower spherical section having a flat bottom wall, means mounting said container within said housing with said threaded neck projecting therefrom through said neck-receiving opening, means medially joining said upper and lower spherical sections with said bottle supported between said top and bottom walls of said sections, a U-shaped mounting member on said bottom wall of said lower spherical section and including upwardly directed arms which are spaced to embrace and inwardly deform the lower portion of said body wall, said housing forming an enclosure about said container and said outer portion of said wick, there being apertures in said top and bottom walls of said sections enabling the flow through said enclosure of bath water such that said bath oil is miscible therewith, a threaded cap engaging said threaded neck and serving as a removable closure for said bottle, and means for suspending said housing such that the same may be immersed and circulated through the bath water to create a flow thereof through said enclosure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,092,728 Dearling Sept. 7, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS 630,540 Germany May 29, 1936 

1. A BATH OIL DISPENSER COMPRISING A CONTAINER INCLUDING A THREADED NECK BOUNDING A NECK OPENING AND A BODY WALL OF A PENETRABLE PLASTIC, A WICK EXTENDING THROUGH SAID BODY WALL AND INCLUDING AN INNER PORTION EXTENDING INTERNALLY OF SAID CONTAINER, AND AN OUTER PORTION EXTENDING EXTERNALLY OF SAID CONTAINER, SAID WICK BEING SATURABLE WITH A BATH OIL WHEN POURED INTO SAID CONTAINER THROUGH SAID NECK OPENING, A HOUSING, MEANS MOUNTING SAID CONTAINER WITHIN SAID HOUSING WITH SAID THREADED NECK PROJECTING THEREFROM, SAID HOUSING FORMING AN ENCLOSURE ABOUT SAID CONTAINER AND SAID OUTER PORTION OF SAID WICK, THERE BEING APERTURES IN SAID HOUSING ENABLING THE FLOW THROUGH SAID ENCLOSURE OF BATH WATER SUCH THAT SAID BATH OIL IS MISCIBLE THEREWITH, AND A THREADED CAP ENGAGING SAID THREADED NECK AND SERVING AS A REMOVABLE CLOSURE FOR SAID CONTAINER. 